Northern Mali continues to fall prey to terrorist attacks with four people having died in an assault on UN peacekeepers near their base in Kidal earlier this month.

The Group to Support Islam and Muslims, also known as Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen in Arabic, a fusion of three militant groups with previous Al-Qaeda links formed in March, claimed that attack.

Led by the Malian militant Iyad Ag Ghaly, a former leader of the Ansar Dine, the group has claimed multiple attacks on domestic and foreign forces since its formation, notably the 12,000-member MINUSMA UN force.